What has happened in Japan has shocked everyone.  I saw like most of you that there are casualty figures that claim this could go up to over 10,000 people when the count is finally complete and video after video show us that this is a disaster that is rare for it’s complete devastation.  We saw it recently in Haiti, but this is even bigger because Japan is far from being a third world country.  This is a country that is our ally and is one of the world’s richest nations.  As they clean up, we are truly seeing that something horrible has happened.  We are getting the opportunity to see Americans spring into action to help them search for survivors, clean up and try to avoid further trouble as they struggle with nuclear plants that are threatening to turn large areas into radioactive wastes.

In the midst of all of this, there are some that would attempt to politicize this disaster and use it to show how this President is doing.  I don’t believe it’s time for that, nor is it time to cut down the President for his response.  It is a time simply to rise up and help…all of us, regardless of political persuasion.  I even heard that Chris Matthews on MSNBC said that he felt like this was a time to remind people that President Obama grew up in Hawaii.  Never mind that thousands of people just died, let’s use this to put to rest this “born in America” doubt that has arisen about the President.

There will be some on the left and the right that will attempt to use this to advance their political cause.  We need to resist that and respond to the base of our human compassion.  There are people that have suffered and died because of this disaster.  There are people that will feel the lasting impact of the quake and tsunami for the rest of their lives.  Is this something to put our little Democratic or Republican flag into?  Hardly!

The Bible has said that there is a time for everything.  In this case, I think that it is time to put politics aside and join together to help those in need.  It’s not a time to put into focus the shortcomings or greatness of any political figure.  It is a time instead to do what the President has already started and that is simply to direct the efforts to help our friends in need at a time when few others have the ability to reach out in compassion that we do.  This is what makes America a great place.  It’s not the places or the politics, but the people, you and I, that have compassion to reach out to help.  Anything else is empty posturing and should be ignored.